Rajkummar Rao’s film Srikanth won the Best Hindi Feature Film award at the 72nd National Film Awards. The biopic is produced by Tushar Hiranandanichronicling the life of visually impaired industrialist Srikanth Bolla, also includes JyotikaAlaya F and Sharad Kelkar Play a key role. Jyothika recently opened up about how excited she was to see her Bollywood comeback project win such a prestigious award.
Jyothika on Srikanth’s triumphant journey
For Jyotika, this win is significant as ‘Srikanth’ overcame budget constraints and several other hurdles to reach this milestone. Speaking to News18, she shared, “When a film battles against everything from budget to release and still emerges as a winner just because of its sheer intention, craftsmanship and storytelling, it becomes an emotion for the team. Tushar, Nidhi Hiranandani and T-Series (the producers) made this film outright just to tell the world the most beautiful story of a visually impaired man who challenged society and its norms to not only become a student at MIT but to become a successful industrialist and many more things in life”.Jyothika described Rajkumar’s performance in the film as “brilliant” and praised Tushar’s “vision and passion” for a bold story like Srikanth. “I am grateful and proud to play Devika’s teacher who is the wind under Srikanth’s wings,” said Jyothika. This win is particularly meaningful to her for a personal reason. “This role also touched my heart as this is the first Hindi film I have signed after 25 years in Bollywood. It is not only a national award but also an emotion for the team. This will remain etched in our hearts forever,” she said.
Other winners of the 72nd National Film Awards
Meanwhile, Article 370 won the Best Film award and also won Yami Gautam Dhar her first Best Actress award. On the other hand, Kartik Aaryan won the National Award for the first time, sharing the Best Actor trophy with Malayalam superstar Mammootty. Kartik was awarded the title of ‘Chandu Champion’ while Mammootty bagged the title for ‘Bramayugam’. The Best Director Award was awarded to Rajkumar Periyasamy Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment for “Amaran” and “Kalki 2898 AD”.